One of my favorite teaching experiences was hosting a weekly Creative Writing Club. Maybe you are lucky enough to be in this same position. Maybe you’re looking for prompts for yourself, or for a young aspiring writer, or for a group. Maybe you’re a classroom teacher looking to spend the last day before winter vacation doing something out of the ordinary; I hope so!

For those hosting a group, might I recommend a very simple formula. First, a short greeting and introduction of the (always optional) prompt. Second, lots of writing time. I am a big believer in writing when the students write, both to develop a sense of camaraderie and because it’s fun. And finally, open the floor to any volunteers who want to share. Let the other students or participants lead any answering comments, the more specific the better.

Now let’s get to the prompts!

1. GOTTA USE ‘EM ALL. Choose seven words (alone or together as a group). You can skip one, but the rest have to show up in your finished piece.
2. LOVE/HATE. Choose an object: children, chickens, summer, pizza, anything. Write about it first like you/the character hates that thing. Then again like you love it.
3. ONLY DIALOGUE. Write a conversation between two characters with only quotation marks (no he said/she said, in other words). Only strong characterizations will keep it from devolving into confusion and mess.
4. NO DIALOGUE. Describe an interacting between two characters with no dialogue at all.
5. SECRETS. Write a scene where one or more characters know or feel something they will not or cannot say out loud.
6. TAKE A WALK. No, really. That’s it. Sit somewhere you don’t usually sit, and see if the new location inspires any new ideas.
7. CHILDHOOD TALE. Retell a personal story from your distant past.
8. STYLE EXERCISE. Write in the style of a distinctive writer. Hemingway. Faulkner. Austen. Silly or serious.
9. VOICE EXERCISE. Write from the point of view or someone or something new. A 10 year old boy. An 85 year old widow. A tree in the middle of the forest.
10. CLIFFHANGER. Alone or together, come up with a short list of dramatic or unusual situations. Hanging out a window. Wondering how many dollar bills could be successfully flushed down a toilet. Stepping out of a bear costume. How did this character get here?